Max frights and delights by bringing back Pennywise actor for the It prequel show, and renewing award-winning comedy hit Hacks for season 4

Something a bit silly and scary

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

There’s some big news coming out of HBOMax, where the streamer has renewed one of the very best comedies and added a very familiar face to a much-anticipated horror sequel. The comedy isHacksand the horror series isWelcome To Derry, the prequel toIt.

The renewal ofHacksfor a fourth season isn’t a big surprise: it’s had excellent word of mouth, great reviews and picked up multiple Emmy awards too. Although details of the plot haven’t been revealed as yet it’ll feature both Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and Ava (Hannah Einbinder) in a new season of the comedy that packs an emotional punch as well as delivering lots of beautifully written and timed gags.

If you haven’t caught it yet it’s highly recommended: season three, which is nowstreaming on Max in May, is currently sitting at 97% on Rotten Tomatoes and the show has an overall 99% rating. It’s one of the smartest and funniest shows you can stream, a classic odd-couple comedy with surprisingly sharp teeth.

Skarsgård’s back to terrorize the children

Jean Smart inHackscan be pretty horrible, but she’s nothing compared to the sinister clown Pennywise from Stephen King’sIt– and Max has announced that Bill Skarsgård will be reprising his role as Pennywise inWelcome To Derry, which is the working title for the It prequel series. Skarsgård will star and executive produce the show, which is set in the same world as the movies but which will tell new stories over its nine-episode run.

Once again plot details are still under wraps, but the show will take place before the events we’ve seen in the movies and may cast some light on how Pennywise came to be such a memorable and malicious character.

Streaming dates are some way off still butWelcome To Derryis currently scheduled for 2025. No date for season four ofHackshas been announced either, but May 2025 seems most likely. Seasons one to three are currently streaming on Max in the US. For viewers in the UK, the first two seasons are currently streaming on Prime Video.

You might also like

Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.

Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.

Writer, broadcaster, musician and kitchen gadget obsessive Carrie Marshall has been writing about tech since 1998, contributing sage advice and odd opinions to all kinds of magazines and websites as well as writing more than a dozen books. Her memoir,Carrie Kills A Man, is on sale now and her next book, about pop music, is out in 2025. She is the singer in Glaswegian rock bandUnquiet Mind.

We just learned more about Max’s password-sharing crackdown – and more price hikes are coming too

HBO’s hit Game of Thrones show is getting a movie – and it might come to a theater before you can stream it

I’m a Nintendo Switch expert, here are the five best early Black Friday deals right now